I stepped outside of privilege to recognize
death drags its claws through every family
with no regard for neatly supping
at one edge

Indeed, there never is a smooth progression —
life sends us scrambling up and down the crags,
wandering the canyons,
sometimes scaling mountains,
sometimes finding dark reclusive caves

And look, we are not shredded —
the cohesion of our lives
just pulls us closer,
re-knits our fabric,
fills the former holes with light

Though we be touched by death,
we are not conquered,
and so we learn a little more of life.

©Wendy Mulhern
February 18, 2019